Shimano Sora rear derailleur

[Aussie Steve]

what's the metal thing that holds the jockey wheels? well, my mate's bike has Sora, that metal "leg" is a bit longer than the leg on my 105, presumably because he has a triple chainring and I got a normal double one.
Anyways, you can hold the end of the "leg" and feel a little bit of freeplay- sideways movement, it seems it comes from the derailleur. All the bolts and screws are as tight as possible.
Any ideas?

 

[rek]

what's the metal thing that holds the jockey wheels? well, my mate's bike has Sora, that metal "leg" is a bit longer than the leg on my 105, presumably because he has a triple chainring and I got a normal double one.
Anyways, you can hold the end of the "leg" and feel a little bit of freeplay- sideways movement, it seems it comes from the derailleur. All the bolts and screws are as tight as possible.
Any ideas?

Jockey wheel cages (at least that's what I've been calling them ) on derailleurs designed for indexed-shifting systems do usually have a bit of side to side play in them; it makes them a little bit more tolerant of when cable tension isn't quite 100%.

If it doesn't affect shifting (note: after checking things like cable tension, clean cables and housing, etc.) I would just let it be.

And yes, a rear derailleur for a triple has a longer cage -- this is because it has to even out chain tension for a more extreme set of gearing options than a double.

 

[jamesdemien]

Yeah even my ultegra stuff has a little bit of movement to it. As long as it shifts smoothly you're good.

 

[Aussie Steve]

One of our colleagues at work has Ultegra on his faithfull steed, we had a look at it and his derailleur assembly was tight and firm.
My mate's Sora, the movement seems a bit excessive.
The actual reason I posted was that he complained of a "ticking" noise, I rode alongside him and said, "yeah, your gears need adjusting, the chain is not tracking square on the cog" and it's just sort of jumping on the teeth....
but at work, we did a Paris Hilton (turned the bike upside down) and pedalled it, the noise was gone. But riding that night, "ticking" had returned. Only when pedalling. Freewheeling, no noise.

 

[jamesdemien]

hmm maybe we're talking about a different ammount of wiggle...

the reason it ticks when he's riding is because there is more pressure on the chain when you're moving... Use the little barrel adjusters to straighten it out and get it aligned with the cogs...or buy a new one...

 

[free_rideman]

Actually a derailleur is better when it has less play in the derailleur cage. If it has play, then the shifts will be much longer, and not as smooth. The thing that makes shifting smooth is actually the shifters, not derailleur (this being relative).

But the real problem is in the fact that the sora is the cheapest derailleur in the shimano road line, and thus it has a horrible amount of play in the cage. More so than any other shimano derailleurs. And if you add in miles of wear, than you have one bad derailleur.
I have also heard that ultegras have a bit more play too. 105 and Dura Ace being the best. 105 since it is pretty beefy for a road derailleur, and Dura Ace since they made it structurally have less play in the cage.

 

[supergrill]

...
I have also heard that ultegras have a bit more play too. 105 and Dura Ace being the best. 105 since it is pretty beefy for a road derailleur, and Dura Ace since they made it structurally have less play in the cage.

Nonsense.

 

[Aussie Steve]

The free play is not in the cage itself but appears to come from where it is mounted to the derailleur...hard to describe, but it should not wiggle side-to-side at all

 

[serenaslu]

The free play is not in the cage itself but appears to come from where it is mounted to the derailleur...hard to describe, but it should not wiggle side-to-side at all

There usually (at least on the higher level groups) is a thin plastic washer between the cage and the derailleur body (officially called the P-Ring Seal).
See part#8 on:
http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/customer_support/service_diagrams/road_2005.MainContentPar.0024.Schematic.0008.File.tmp/EV-RD-6600-2358.pdf

(note: I know this is an Ultegra diagram, but the Sora diagram:
http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/content/australia/en/cycling/customer_support/service_diagrams/road_2005.MainContentPar.0018.Schematic.0010.File.tmp/rd_3300_ev.pdf
does not show the outer cage assembly internals and I am not sure if they are even serviceable on that group. )

Any chance that this has become fractured or damaged creating play?

( It used to be that the RD's used to have an external 6mm hex bolt that could easily be used to tighten (or disassemble) the cage pivot point. So much for progress!)

 

[Aussie Steve]

You know that big B-Axle Assembly...I thought it may be loose (the big bolt)but it was tight. I loosened it slightly and then retightened it but still no joy...
By the way, a big thanx for including that link in your message, when we pull apart the B Axle, we will know how to put it back together again

 

[Jeff D.]

You guys are pussies. You did not get the point at all that it is because Sora is a pos. I had one back in the day and it was a gay pos. It shifted like my old grandma walks.

Stop acting like grown pussies that think they know everything when they really do not.

Use your brains and some common sense.